Utilizing otherwise unused space on cover or partition sheets

ABSTRACT

A system and method for utilizing otherwise unused space on cover or partition sheets printed in response to a print command, which sheets otherwise typically become waste paper, by printing on such sheets additional information not directly related to the print job but of interest to the user, such as coupons, or other promotional material, or other information such as lottery material.

FIELD

This patent specification is in the field of using printers or otherimage forming devices that print a sheet such as a cover or partitionsheet for purposes such as separating print jobs from the same ordifferent users or identifying print jobs and/or users.

BACKGROUND

Many types of image forming devices print sheets that are in addition tothe normal print jobs. For example, a network printer can be arranged toautomatically print a cover or partition sheets that contain informationsuch as the identity of the print job, the time, the name of the userwho sent the print job, etc. Similar arrangement can be set up forprinters that are not shared, or for other image forming devices, suchas multi-function office machines, copiers, fax machines, etc. Suchadditional sheets typically become waste paper once they have servedtheir immediate purpose, such as helping a user find a particular printjob or other image forming job.

SUMMARY

One embodiment disclosed herein uses the such cover or partition sheetsto print coupons or other information that is not directly related tothe print job associated with the cover or partition sheet but can beuseful to the user in other ways.

In an embodiment that illustrates the principles disclosed in thispatent specification, e-commerce entities provide coupon informationrelated to goods or services they promote. For example, an officesupplies company such as Staples may be interested in having coupons fora discount on a particular item printed on the cover or partition sheetof a user's print job. In accordance with a business arrangement with anentity such as a service center, for example a home page source such asan office equipment manufacturer, the e-commerce entity supplies couponinformation to a database operated by or for the home page provider.Users at user stations such as personal computers that have either localarea network (LAN) access to printers or direct access to individualprinters, can request coupon information through an Internet connectionwith the home page source. For example, the request can be made byclicking through a menu on the home page or a link through the homepage. In response, the service center downloads selected couponinformation over the Internet to the user station, and the user stationstores some or all of this information in memory at the local station,e.g., in the PC memory of a user, or at a server connected to the user'sLAN. Provided that such coupon information has been already stored atthe user's station, when a user issues a normal print command to print aprint job, for example a Word document, and provided the normal responseto such a print command is to print both the print job and a separatecover or partition sheet, the user station automatically accesses thelocally stored coupon information, merges it with the normal cover orpartition sheet information, and prints a new kind of a cover orpartition sheet. The new kind of print includes the typical cover sheetinformation that is related to the print job, such as the time and date,some identification of the user who sent the print command and/or of theprint job, but also includes additional information that is not directlyrelated to the particular print job, e.g., includes a coupon from or foran e-commerce entity.

Other systems for electronic coupon distribution have been proposed, forexample in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,907,830, 5,909,673, and 5,926,795, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference as examples ofstate-of-the art technology. However, none of them propose the system ormethod disclosed and claimed in this patent specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 illustrates the overall arrangement of a system according to apreferred embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates exchange of information between entities included inthe FIG. 1 arrangement.

FIG. 3 illustrates a coupon request screen.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a coupon download/update process.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a coupon printing process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process involving a coupon updaterequest.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a coupon canceling process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment is discussed in whichinformation unrelated to a print request is printed on a cover orpartition sheet that is normally printed for purposes such asidentifying the print job, the person who sent the print job, etc., butit should be clear that the principles outlined below are applicable toother image forming devices or other arrangements involving users ande-commerce entities.

In FIG. 1, when a user at a station such as personal computer (PC) 21transmits a print request, a printer 23 prints not only the print jobthe user specifically requested but also additional information,typically on an additional sheet that can be called a cover sheet or apartition sheet. This additional information can typically include anidentification of the user, the time and date, a file name or directory,etc. Such additional pages frequently are automatically printed when theuser is a part of a network that includes other users, such as thenetwork 2 a illustrated at user side 2 in FIG. 1, but there can beoccasions when even an printer that is not shared is set up toautomatically print such additional sheets. In the example of FIG. 1,the network includes a server 2 b having a database 2 c, and a fire wall2 d through which the network is connected to the Internet, therebyallowing connection thereto for several individual users, each at arespective PC 21. While the Internet is the communication medium in thisembodiment, it should be apparent that other large-scale networks can beused instead of, or in addition to, the Internet.

Through the Internet, the user side 2 can communicate with a centralservice center 1 and e-commerce sites 3. Central service center 1 has ahome page source 11 and a database 13. In this example, the home page 11and database 13 are operated by a printer manufacturer, but in otherembodiments other entities can provide similar functionality. Servicecenter 1 further includes a local area network (LAN) 15 and stationsconnected thereto such as PC's 15 a, a central computer 19 and adatabase 19 a connected thereto, as well as a printer 15 c, with network15 being connected to the Internet through a fire wall 17. E-commercesites 3 also are connected to the Internet through a fire wall. Whileonly one e-commerce site 3 a and its fire wall 3 b are illustrated inFIG. 1, it should be understood that typically multiple e-commerce siteswould be included, with at least some of them having respective firewalls. Also connected to the Internet are individual PC users, such as21 a and 21 b, connected to respective individual printers 23 a and 23b.

Referring to FIG. 2, an entity that provides home page 11 hasarrangements with entities that provide coupons. The arrangements can bedirectly between the entity providing home page 11 and e-commerceentities such as 3 a, 3 c and 3 d, or can be through intermediaries (notillustrated in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2). Once appropriate commercialarrangements have been made, the e-commerce entities transmit to thehome page source, directly or through other entities, coupon informationthat is ultimately stored in database 13, and can be updated from timeto time as agreed according to the commercial arrangements. A PC 21 canaccess home page 11 and request coupon transmissions from the home pagescreen, as described below. One or more coupons can be transmitted fromdatabase 13 to a user PC such as 21, upon a user request or otherwise.For example, the user at 21 can request a specific coupon by clicking atan appropriate notation in the web page screen. Upon such a click, theuser's PC 21 transmits the request to home page source 11, which thendownloads the coupon information from database 13 to the user's PC 21.The user at 21 can similarly request the coupon information to beupdated, or canceled, and the coupon information sent to and stored atthe user's PC 21 can be updated or deleted based on data transmittedthereto from home page source 11.

At the user's PC 21, a printer driver 25 has merge software that mergesthe normal data that would be printed on a cover or partition sheet withthe coupon information, and sends the merged data to printer 23 forprinting a cover or partition sheet with both the normal informationprinted thereon and coupon information.

Referring to FIG. 3, preferred steps for making a coupon request includeproviding some user identification at step 31, for example on a screenform sent to a user at a PC 21 over the Internet from home page source11. The user ID can be information such as one or more of a serialnumber of some other identification of the PC, an e-mail address, aname, or some other identification. Alternatively, such informationcould be provided without direct user input, for example through the useof “cookies” previously stored in the user's PC 21. In response toreceiving a user ID, at step 32 home page source 11 sends for display onthe user's screen a coupon request form for the user to click on one ormore sources of coupons the user would like to receive. Uponconfirmation by the user at step 32, such as clicking “yes,” or withoutexpress confirmation in an alternate embodiment, the home page source 11can send at step 33 for display at the user's PC another form on whichthe user can click information as to the desired frequency of updatingthe coupon information, and the user can confirm the choice by clicking“OK” or can cancel. At step 34, the user receives another form on whichclicking at “send” send the coupon request to home page source 11 andclicking on “cancel” cancels the coupon request. Service center 1receives the coupon request information from the user's PC 21 over theInternet and, upon authorization from central computer 19, database 13downloads the coupon information to the user's PC 21 through theInternet connection.

Referring to FIG. 4, the process of downloading coupon information fromservice center 1 to the user's PC 21 starts at step 41 and at step 42central computer 19 checks for coupon requests. If no coupon requestsare pending, the process loops back to step 41, and this continues untilstep 42 determines that a coupon request from a PC 21 is pending. Upon a“yes” answer at step 42, the process retrieves the appropriate couponinformation from database 13, and downloads it at step 44 to therequesting PC 21 through the Internet connection. Step 45 returns theprocess to the start step 41.

Referring to FIG. 5, the process of printing the coupon information atthe user's PC 21 and printer 23. The process starts at step 51, checksat step 52 if the user's PC 21 has issued a request for a print job andloops back to step 51 if no printing has been requested. Upon detectinga print job request at step 52, the process checks at step 53 if a coveror partition page should be printed and, if the answer is “yes,” checksat step 54 if there is coupon data in memory at PC 21. If the answer atstep 54 also is “yes,” the process merges the usual cover or partitionsheet date with the appropriate coupon data, and at step 56 transmits toprinter 23 the print data for all three of the print job, the normalcover or partition page, and the coupon. The process keeps checking atstep 57 if printing has been completed, and ends at step 58 upon the endof printing and return to step 51. If the answer at step 53 is “no,”i.e., no cover or partition page is to be printed, the process goesdirectly to step 56 to transmit for printing only the print job.Similarly, if the answer at step 54 is “no,” i.e., there is no coupondata at PC 21, the process goes directly to step 56, to transmit forprinting only the print job and the normal cover sheet or partitionsheet data.

Referring to FIG. 6, the process carried out by a user PC 21 to updatinga coupon data at appropriate time intervals starts at step 51 and atstep 52 the process checks whether an appropriate preset time intervalfor the relevant PC 21 has passed. If the answer is “no,” the processchecks at step 53 whether a manual or other override should commandupdating even if the preset time interval has not passed and, if theanswer is “no,” returns to step 51. If the answer at step 52 or at step53 is “yes,” the process at step 54 transmits a coupon request to thehome page source 11, and checks at step 55 is a coupon request has beenreceived at PC 21 from the home page source 11 over the Internetconnection. If the answer at step 55 is “no,” the process loops back tostep 55, until a “yes” answer leads to step 56, at which PC 21 writes orrewrites the newly received coupon data in its memory, and proceeds tostep 57, which returns the process to step 51.

Referring to FIG. 7, a user can cancel a coupon request previously made,and can clear PC 21 of coupon data by sending an appropriate request toservice center 1 though the Internet connection. The process carried outat service center 1 starts at step at step 71 and checks at step 72whether a request for canceling coupon information has been receivedfrom a PC 21. If the answer is “no,” the process loops back to step 71.Upon a “yes” answer at step 72, the process transmits a coupon deletecommand to the appropriate PC 21 over the Internet connection, and atstep 74 causes a return to step 71. In response to the coupon deletecommand received at a PC 21 as a result of step 73, the PC 21 deletesthe software commands that had been stored therein to cause thetransmission of coupon updating requests to service center 1.

In the preferred embodiments disclosed above, the additional informationprinted on the cover or partition sheet is coupons, but it can be otherinformation that is in addition to the normal information printed onsuch an additional sheet. As a non-limiting example, the additionalinformation can be lottery information that can be downloaded to auser's PC with or instead of the coupon information discussed above, andstored at the user's PC 21. For example, a set of random numbers, orsoftware for generating such a set of random numbers, can be downloadedfrom service center 1 to a user's PC 21 together with a lottery number.The lottery number can be printed at printer 23 as described above forthe coupon information, and the set of random number downloaded fromservice center 1, or a set of locally generated random numbers, can beprinted on the same sheet or on cover or partition sheets for otherprint jobs. As other examples, educational material, or promotionalmaterial, or company announcements, or some other information can beprinted on the cover or partition sheets, or on other sheets that haveutilizable space, instead of or in addition to the types of informationdiscussed above.

1-14. (canceled)
 15. A method for printing, comprising: merging couponinformation stored in memory at a user station to a print job, toproduce merged information, said coupon information being directed to auser but is not specific to the print job; automatically retrieving thecoupon information from the memory at the user station, without userknowledge of contents of the coupon information, before printing of themerged information; and printing the merged information on one or moresheets.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the coupon information isincluded in the merged information printed on said one or more sheets,without user knowledge, prior to said printing, that the couponinformation would be included in the merged information printed on saidone or more sheets.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:pushing said coupon information by a service center through a network tosaid memory of the user station.
 18. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: downloading said coupon information by software operating onthe user station from a database through a network, without knowledge bythe user of said downloading.
 19. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: automatically checking the memory at the user station forthe coupon information; performing said automatic retrieving andmerging, only if the coupon information is found in the memory at theuser station.
 20. A printing system comprising: a user station includingmemory, printer driver and a network connection through which said userstation communicates with another device connected to the network; saidprint driver merging coupon information stored in the memory, to a printjob to produce merged information, said coupon information beingdirected to a user but is not specific to a print job; said print driverautomatically retrieving the coupon information from the memory, withoutuser knowledge of contents of the coupon information, before printing ofthe merged information; said print driver submitting the mergedinformation for printing on one or more sheets.
 21. The printing systemof claim 20, further comprising one or more printers connected to saidnetwork, wherein the merged information is submitted for printing to aselected one of the printers.
 22. The printing system of claim 20,further comprising a database, wherein said coupon information isdownloaded from said database through said network connection to saidmemory of said user station.
 23. The printing system of claim 22,wherein said user station further includes software configured todownload said coupon information from said database through saidnetwork, without knowledge by the user of said downloading.
 24. Theprinting system of claim 22, further comprising a service center,wherein said service center pushes said coupon information through saidnetwork to said memory of the user station.
 25. The printing system ofclaim 20, wherein said print driver automatically checks the memory ofthe user station for the coupon information, and performs said automaticretrieving and merging, only if the coupon information is found in thememory at the user station.
 26. A printing system comprising: mergingmeans for merging coupon information stored in memory at a user stationto a print job, to produce merged information, said coupon informationbeing directed to a user but is not specific to the print job;retrieving means for automatically retrieving the coupon informationfrom the memory at the user station, without user knowledge of contentsof the coupon information, before printing of the merged information;and printing means for printing the merged information on one or moresheets.